Tuesday, July 30, 2013

The past week has been crawling with media
gimmicks by the Awami League, topping which are these two:

1.PM Sheikh Hasina cooking for her son on his birthday. This is being repeatedly shown as a
testament to her motherly qualities in a bid to woo potential voters by
portraying her as a loving mother and a soft hearted personality. I shall let
you ask the questions about Megh, the orphan of the murdered journalists Sagor-Runi.

2.PM Sheikh Hasina hugs freedom fighter Roma Chowdhury in an extremely emotional manner. One
might forget to ask where Hasina’s love was all these years and why it suddenly
had to manifest itself now that Awami League has lost in 4 city corporation
elections.

One such gimmick went too far as Shazib Wajed Joy,
the son of PM Hasina was allowed to speak in front of a full house. Bumbling
with self confidence and starved for attention, Sheikh Mujib junior made a
startling statement
saying,” I
have information that the Awami League will return to power. The propagandas
being run by the BNP must be tackled”. The statement has resulted in a furor
and lead to speculations of a conspiracy in the upcoming polls, a hard wired
conception the Awami League has had little success in debunking anyway.

Power
squabble turned PR stunt:

However, that was not all. Earlier this week,
Awami League strived to show its love for the freedom of the press as the state
machinery orchestrated the arrest of one lawmaker for ‘serious offences’
against the said freedom.

The arrest of Golam Maula Rony, a lawmaker of the
ruling Awami League, is a manifestation of
the government’s respect for the country’s mass media, said a grinning information
minister Hasanul Haq Inu on Thursday the 25th of July.

“The arrest of Rony, who is in the dock of the
court, has demonstrated the government’s respect for the mass media. I hope
that all of you (the media) will come forward to establish the rule of law in
the country,” he added.

Earlier, news accounts
reported that Golam Maula Rony, a member of the ruling Awami League, and
several unnamed individuals present at the politician's office in Dhaka
allegedly beat ImtiazMomin Sony, a reporter for Independent TV, a private news
channel, and cameraman MohsinMukul. Thereportssaid that
the journalists had visited Rony's office seeking comment for a story they were
covering for the station's investigative show, "Talash," on
allegations of bribery against the politician.

Sony told journalists that the politician "became
agitated" during the interview and began to punch and kick him and Mukul.
The extent of the injuries suffered was not immediately clear. Their camera and
microphone were also damaged in the attack. The channel filed a police complaint against the
politician the same day. Ronyhad secured
bail in the case on July 21, which was overturned on the 25th.

Rony had claimed that Independent
TV co-owner Salman F Rahman put the 'Talash' team after him following his
remarks on the share market scam. The MP also lodged a complaint on his
official letterhead with the Shahbagh police on Saturday night, accusing Rahman
of extortion, blackmailing,
attempt-to-murder, and abduction.

The incident could have just faded as another instance of
internal power squabbling within the Awami League. However, the AL bigwigs saw
it as a chance to turn something ugly to their advantage by making one the
scapegoat. In this aspect, the choice between Rony and Salman F Rahman was not
a difficult one. Rony was a first time MP, young, hot headed and controversial
in his loyalty to the party. Salman F Rahman, although much hated in social
circles, was a financier, a seasoned veteran and a much more valuable asset.Rony
was dispensable. So viola! Rony was painted as the big bad guilty crook.

Debunking the Awami League’s love for the media:

Now
back to the comments of the government. The Information
minister said that the arrest of MP Golam Maula Rony has proved government's
allegiance to the journalist community. Says who? I hope thisrecent analysisof Hasanul
Haque Inu, seemingly savior of media and freedomof
expression, will help.

The year 2012 was a bad year for journalists. In
2012 five journalists were killed.In 2011 none were killed, in 2010 four
journalists were killed and in 2009 three journalists were killed. The
journalists and the media continue to be victims of attacks, physical assault,
threats and intimidation from different powerful quarters, specially the
government and the ruling party leaders and activists. From January to December
2012, according to Odhikar’s documented statistics, apart from the five
journalists killed, 161 journalists have been injured, 63 have been threatened,
10 have been attacked and 50 have been assaulted and twojournalists were
tortured by RAB and the Detective Branch (DB) of police.

1.On February 11, 2012, Sagar Sarwar, News Editor
of the private channel Maasranga TV and his wife Meherun Runi, senior reporter
of private television channel ATN Bangla, were killed at their rented flat at
West Rajabazar in Dhaka. Justice still eludes their only remaining child, Megh.

2.On May 10, 2012, Tuhin Sanzid, a senior reporter
of the daily ‘Bhorer Dak’, was allegedly picked up by RAB and tortured, for
reporting on the disappearance of Bangladesh Nationalist Party organising
secretary M Ilias Ali and on extrajudicial killings.

3.On May 14, 2012, a group of 10-12 alleged
criminals led by Aminul Islam, nephew of the State Minister for Home Affairs,
Advocate Shamsul Huq Tuku, attacked Abdullah Al Mamun, Regional Correspondent
of the daily ‘Kaler Kantho’ at Bera Bazaar under Pabna district for publishing
a report on corruption, implicating the Minister. Mamun was admitted to Pabna
General Hospital in a critical condition.

4.On July 13, 2012, Mostafizur Rahman Sumon, Crime
Reporter of the online news agency ‘JustNews’, was picked up and allegedly
tortured by the Detective Branch (DB) of police and detained for two days in
the DB Office.

And let us not forget the incident of ruling
Awami League lawmaker Kamal Ahmed Majumder assaulting
a female television journalist at Monipur High School and College at Mirpur in
the capital on January 3, 2012.

The incident happened when Aparna Singha, staff
reporter of Rtv, along with cameraman Syed Haider and another reporter Shahin
Parvez went to the school at around 11:30am to seek Kamal's comment on the
school authority's decision to charge admission fees way beyond the amount
fixed by the government since Kamal, elected from Dhaka-15 (Kafrul-Ibrahimpur),
was also president of the school managing committee.

Television footage showed Kamal Majumder
striking Aparna's hand and pushing her aside, saying, "Keep it [the
microphone] away, keep it away." The lawmaker was also heard calling her
"stupid" and ordering some men surrounding him to "slap
her".

Later in the evening, the lawmaker at a talk
show on Mohona TV, which he owns, criticised journalists for their
"aggressive attitude and their conspiracy against him in the name of
journalism". On the show titled "information terrorism: conspiracy of
capitalist mass media," discussants, including the school principal and
the assistant principal of the school, blasted the Rtv reporter for
"conspiring to tarnish the image of the school".

No legal action was taken that day.

Tip of the
iceberg

You may say that the above are but isolated incidents and
that media in Bangladesh in reality, enjoy overwhelming freedom. You could not
be farther from the truth.

All this was just the tip of the iceberg. It is with great
sorrow that one will remember that action by the incumbent Awami League government
has led to the closureofChannel 1(27 April, 2010 ) ,Sheershanews(21 August,2011), Amardesh (twice, in conjunction with the arrest of its editor,
Mahmudur Rahman, on 1 June 2010 and again, since 11 April 2013),as well as the closure of Islamic TV and Diganta
TV in light of coverage of the Motijheel massacre perpetrated by government
forces (bothsince 6th May 2013).

In this context,
the arrest of Mahmudur Rahman deserves special mention. The Economistnotedthat Mahmudur Rahman was arrested a full four months after the main
offence for which he was charged saying that the real reason for his detention
might lay elsewhere.

This was the explanation they gave, “The day before he was
picked up Amar Desh had advertised an upcoming series of damning American
embassy cables on Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s founding president and
the father of the current Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina. The website of Amar
Desh announced the forthcoming series, which was to be translated into Bengali
from the WikiLeaks trove, with the headline: “Mujib: The New Mughal”. This was
a clear reference to the
absolute powers that “Chairman Mujib” assumed upon decreeing one-party rule
in February 1975. Another cable
notes that Sheikh Mujib “began to suffer the classic paranoia of the despot”,
speaks of his “failure to meet their (the Bengalees’) aspirations” and “his apparent
desire to hold power largely for personal aggrandisement and dynastic reasons”.

The content of the cables and the timing of Rahman’s
imprisonment makes it seem that the government’s desire to control the media
has a lot to do with its imperative to defend its own version of the country’s
history. The press would hardly be the first Bangladeshi institution to fall
crumble under such pressure. “

Let us see what the incumbent information minister had to say
about this. After the closure of the two television channels and the arrest of
Mahmudur Rahman, Inu, the minister of information, was visited by editors of
the country’s 15 daily newspapers, whodemandedthe
government allow the recently closed private television channels Diganta TV and
Islamic Television to go on air again and the release of Amardesh acting editor
Mahmudur Rahman.Ina scathingreply to their collective plea,
he sternly informed them that such an appeal was ‘not in the best interest of
the media’ and that the editors
issued their statement without knowing the “entire facts”.

In conclusion,

So was the arrest of Golam Maola Rony MP really the ultimate manifestation
of the government’s respect for the country’s mass
media? I believe not. It was politics, pure and simple. An act put together to win sympathy. The true freedom of the press
is important. Not to protect the rights of newspapers, reporters, radio and
television stations and the like but to protect the right of the people to have
the information they need to make informed decisions about their government. The Awami League has not just put a plug on the face of the freedom of media, they have tried to ensure that the press is just a sleazy part of their mission to defend their own version of the country’s history. What we observe, my dear friends, is media manipulation and nurturing of the yellow press. Its that simple in Bangladesh.

Monday, July 29, 2013

Bangladesh Islami Chatra Shibir
in a statement has called for an immediate end to the massacre in Egypt and the
reinstatement of Egypt’s democratically elected President Mohammad Morsi.
Leaders of the student front called for the above at a procession held in the
capital Dhaka.

The large procession, led by
Central Publicity Secretary Mizanur Rahman, began at 4 pm local time starting
from the Mohakhali and ended at Shaheen College end with a post rally
demonstration. Also present was Shibir Central School Affairs Secretary Jakir
Hossain Selim among other leaders. The Shibir leaders said that what was
happening in Egypt was a state sponsored planned massacre by the military which
had aggrieved Muslims worldwide this Ramadan. The martyrdom of hundreds of men,
women and children had affected every human being with a conscience. Shibir
leaders further said, “We on behalf of the people of Bangladesh strongly
condemn this ongoing massacre. We urge the military rulers to immediately stop
this massacre and reinstate and hand over power to the democratically elected
President Mohammad Morsi.

The leaders said that the Islamic
movement in Egypt had come so far after facing multifaceted oppression. The
removal of the democratically elected and widely popular President was a part
of this multifaceted oppression against the Islamic movement. Democracy and
peace loving people of the world believe that Mohammad Morsi is the only legal
President of Egypt. Any believer in these ideals could not welcome a government
formed via a military coup.

The leaders further said that
they were surprised at the two faced policy of the Western governments
regarding the situation in Egypt. By such policies, they had marred their own
democratic image. People wanted to know what kind of democracy they stood along
with. If their commitment to democracy was true, then they ought to stand along
with the pro democracy protesters in Egypt. Silently supporting a coup is never
a part of democratic practices. We call towards every country in the United
Nations to pressure the illegal government of Egypt to step down.

The Shibir leaders reiterated
their sincere support for the pro-democracy peaceful protesters in Egypt. We
extend our condolences to every mother who has lost her child and every sister
who has lost her brother. The blood of martyrs will not go in vain and Egypt
will turn into a bastion of the Islamic movement Insha Allah.

Sunday, July 28, 2013

Calendars
in Egypt will not only remember the 27th of July 2013 as the 19th
day of Ramadan , they will also remember the day as the day the civilized world
condoned a massacre of immense proportions; the day the world lost a little
more of its humanity, with minimal fuss.

Statistics of the Coup since President Morsi was deposed in Egypt

The
Guardian reports
that at least 120 supporters ofEgypt's
ousted president,Mohamed
Morsi, were shot dead on Saturday by security officials in what is being
described as the worst state-led massacre in the country since the fall of
Hosni Mubarak. Ground sources have however, put the death toll at as high as 200 deaths. Aljazeera reported
that Ahmed Aref, the Muslim Brotherhood
spokesperson, said 66 people were killed, another 61 are "clinically
dead", and a further 4,500 people were injured, 700 of which were injured
by live bullets. The health ministry, meanwhile, has put the figure at 80
killed so far, based on the number of bodies received at the morgue. It said
792 people had been injured in the clashes.

The massacre took place in the small hours of Saturday
morning, at a sit-in at Rabaa al-Adawiya, east Cairo, where tens of thousands
of pro-democracy supporters have camped amidst calls for his reinstatement since
Morsi was deposed on 3 July. They were killed over a period of six hours
during a drive by Central Security forces (CSF) flanked by on a road near the anti military coup sit-in
at Rabaa al-Adawiya in eastern Cairo.

The butchery only came hours after Interim President Adly
Mansour announced, “the state has to impose order by all force and
decisiveness.” The same day, Interior Minister Gen. Mohammed Ibrahim warned
that security forces would be clearing pro-democracy sit-ins from Rabaa and
Nahda squares “soon.”

It needs no reiteration that this slaughter of defenseless
citizens materialized less than 24 hours after hundreds of thousands of
anti-Morsi protesters gathered in Egyptian streets to give General Abdel Fatah
al-Sisi, the army chief who ousted Morsi, their assent to crackdown on what he
had on Wednesday called "terrorism".

As a verification of the media blackout in place, Egyptian
media has largely remained silent. It was a testament to the deep roots of the
Mubarak era regime in Egyptian media that the British newspaper, The Guardian
was among the first to say this, “Sceptics say this (Sisi’s speech) is a
euphemism for a violent campaign on largely peaceful Morsi supporters, who have
held sit-ins and marches across several Egyptian cities since Morsi was
overthrown – including at Rabaa al-Adawiya. For weeks, most Egyptian media have
depicted pro-Morsi supporters as terrorists.”

It was just a few days earlier that the Guardian outlined the dangerous consequences of a failed 'Islamist' experiment in Egypt, emphasizing on repercussions that could affect regions far outside Egypt. As if to test the Guardian perspective, the security forces carried out a bone chilling massacre. In the early hours of 8 July, 51 Muslim Brotherhood supporters camped outside the Republican Guard club in Cairo were killed by security forces. Egypt's military claimed the protesters had attempted to break into the compound with the aid of armed motorcyclists. However, after examining video evidence and speaking to witnesses, medics and protesters, the Guardian uncovered a chilling story of a cold blooded massacre. The Rabaa massacre on the 27th is indicative of a situation that is fast deteriorating towards a point of no return.

Statement of Human Rights Watch:

“The use of deadly fire on such a scale so soon after the interim president announced the need to impose order by force suggests a shocking willingness by the police and by certain politicians to ratchet up violence against pro-Morsy protesters,” said Nadim Houry, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “It is almost impossible to imagine that so many killings would take place without an intention to kill, or at least a criminal disregard for people’s lives.”

This is the detailed statement on the Rabaa
massacre by the New York based human rights organization.

Verifcation of the massacre:

These are on-site video certifications of the massacre in
Nasr City, at Rabba's podium on the road leading to Rab'aa Sq. which started on
Jul 27th, after 1:00 a.m. and took place on the grounds of the authorization
that General Sisi requested from his advocates, to cleanse the country from
what he labeled as " possible
terrorism."

The result was attacking peaceful, unarmed
demonstrators with live bullets, cartouche, and heavy tear gases that turned
out poisonous because they have expired; not excluding children or women. The
military's armored vehicles joined hands with security forces and thugs against
the peaceful marching civilians, in an effort to break in to Rab'aa Sq. to
attack the in-sitters there. The demonstrators, however, built human shields
with their bare chests to block their way and save the peaceful in-sitters at
Rab'aa.

Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim hailed
Defense Minister Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and said "he responded to the
nation's call" and put the country's best interest above all. Speaking in a graduation ceremony of police academy
on Sunday, he congratulated the "Great Egyptian people" for achieving
'miracles' on June 30 and July 26 when they united with the military and police
forces and gave them the mandate to deal firmly and strongly with those who try
to destabilize the nation with what they described as "terrorist
acts." He said that the police forces were adamant on achieving
security and stability and proved that they only had the people's and the
nation's security at heart.

Gehad al Haddad’s predicament:

Gehad Al Haddad, English spokesperson for the Muslim
Brotherhood , when asked about what precautions
the Muslim Brotherhood was taking to avoid further bloodshed in light of the
massacre, said,

” There are not many precautions that
one can take. These are peaceful protesters, they carry nothing in their hands
but their own chants and their own pictures. There's nothing more that they can
do except to appeal to the humanity of the one's attacking them, if there's any
left in that, or to that of the rest of the world, that are allowing such
massacres to continue. But I think that this military coup leadership has
already crossed all red lines that it can cross. They killed men, women and children.
They arrested thousands of people. The death toll now since the start of
this coup is bigger than the entire Egyptian transition period of
three years since the January 25 revolution.”

Reactions
in light of the massacre:

First
it was all silence.

For the
world was shocked.

As the condemnations and
reactions of millions around the world poured it, a disturbing phenomenon was
observed. The governments of the world were mostly quiet.

The state apparatus of Egypt
remained mum too. It was the Vice President Mohamed ElBaradei who strongly
condemned the "excessive use of force" in Egypt and the resultant
deaths after the deadly massacre in light of the attacks by the security
forces against the supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi. However, it
was limited to one simple tweet from his twitter account. It suffices to say
that he was largely ignored due to his inconsequential standing in Egypt’s
politics at the present moment.

The sheikh of Al-Azhar, Ahmed
al-Tayyeb, who heads the Cairo-based Al-Azhar, said in a statement that he deplored
and condemned the deaths of a number of martyrs who were victims of the day’s
events. The grand imam called for an "urgent judicial investigation"
and punishment of those responsible "regardless of their
affiliation".

In stark contrast, the Coptic
Pope, Tawadros II, sent a thank you tweet to the army,which
read:“Thanks
thanks thanks ... For all of the open doors of hope for all of us: Egypt's
great army, the police, the people of Egypt inherent;”.

The April 6 national
Movement called for removal of the interior minister while the main
ex-opposition, the National Salvation Front released a statement, expressing
"deep sadness" for the deaths of Egyptian citizens in the clashes
while ultimately going on to blame the Brotherhood for organizing the protests
in the first place, raising questions as to how much aggrieved they really
were.

The U.S. and the EU mouthed
eloquently worded statements that reeked of complicity with the new regime in Egypt,
as they diplomatically showed shock at the deaths on the streets, while being
limited to scolding the military to be a mite more careful in doling out human
rights to the supporters of the deposed democratically elected President Morsi.
The flow of aid to the Egyptian military still continues unabated to this minute.

The only voice
of dissent was the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who actively condemned
the violence, saying "In Egypt, democracy was massacred, national
aspirations were massacred, and now the nation is being massacred."

"Those who remain silent in
the face of this massacre have blood on their hands and on their faces,"

As self professed progressives turned secularists of the world unite in finding
thousands upon thousands of excuses of the how the Brotherhood was responsible for
it all, I shall finish with a quote by Gehad Haddad: “This is the beginning of a new military [dictatorship] in
Egypt, even if a few civilian faces are slapped on top of it”

Sunday, July 21, 2013

On the 10th of July, the Ministry of Information
sent a letter to the human rights organization Odhikar requesting a copy of
fact finding report carried out by Odhikar on ‘Assembly of Hefazate Islam
Bangladesh and Human Rights Violations’, citing the enthusiasm of the government to make public the ‘real facts and
actual number of deaths’. The government further said that it was conducting a
further in-depth investigation as there has been ‘confusion’ regarding the
death toll during the clash between Hefazate Islam and law enforcement
agencies. To implement this successfully, it requested a copy of the report
including “the detailed list of the 61 deceased persons along with the names of
their fathers, mothers and their addresses.”

1.Odhikar underlines the importance of the
government compiling its own list of casualties.

2.Despite the evidence of human rights violations perpetrated
by the government, security forces have repeatedly denied any casualties. At a
press conference on May 8, 2013, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner,
Benazir Ahmed said that “no one was killed during the operation that flushed
out Hefazate Islam men from Shapla Square in the capital. No lethal weapons
were used in the operation.” (Source: New Age, 09/05/2013)

3.Furthermore, leading Parliamentarians belonging
to the ruling party have time and again claimed in Parliament that no one was
killed in the assembly of Hefazat-e-Islam on the night of 6th May
and that not one bullet was fired (?). The tally includes leading figures such
as Awami League Presidium member and MP Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim along with PM
Hasina herself.

4.From the
above, it can be deduced that the claim that nobody was killed that night by
the government proves that it actually wants to refute its responsibility; and
that it is absolutely not interested to conduct any fair, unbiased
investigation, forget making any figures public.

5.The true fact is that the family members of the
deceased are living in insecurity and fear. The government filed 23 cases at
different police stations accusing at least 133,500 unnamed persons over the
Shapla Square incident. The families of the victims fear that the government
will harass them further and are afraid to speak out in public.

6.This is because there is no victim and witness
protection law in Bangladesh. Being a human rights organisation, it is
Odhikar’s duty to ensure the safety and security of the victims.

7.A few suggestions that the government will most
likely lose interest in while reading up to this point.

Simple thoughts supporting
Odhikar’s stance:

Hasanul Haque Inu, the minister
of Information, is no friend of the media or justice. His single handed fat headedness in dealing with the issue of the media blackout on the 6th
of May should still be fresh in the minds of many.

PM of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina
is no believer in justice. On June 19, 2013, during the speech on point of
order before the Parliament, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that “there was
no shooting on Hefazat activists on May 5, rather Hefazat activists acted dead
by using red dye. They were sleeping in the streets wearing red dye. Later they
ran away in fear of the police” (Source: Newsevent24.com, 19/06/2013).

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the 18th of July said her government will make sure
that those who were engaged in vandalism demanding cancellation of quota system
in public service recruitment will not get government job in future. “We’ve the
pictures, we’ll place them before the PSC before the viva-voce examinations so
that these notorious elements can’t get government jobs,” she said in her
introductory speech at the Awami League Central Working Committee (ALCWC)
meeting at her official residence Ganobhaban.

Conclusion:

With the presence of such biased personalities in offices of
power, it is hardly surprising that human rights organizations such as Odhikar
find no common working space for that important entity called trust.

Although the government has tried hard to keep major human
rights organizations in its pocket, and has succeeded in quite many instances
(bootlickers such as Ain o Salish Kendro, the Bangladesh chapters of HRW and
Transparency International, and the ever oozing National Human Rights Commission
spearheaded by the well known government stooge Mizanur Rahman), the human
rights situation on the ground has remained largely such that few can ignore
its frightful nature. Odhikar as a champion of human rights has succeeded in
many instances in filling the voids that the others have so conveniently and
intentionally left glaring open.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

I was inspired to write this
article in response to a campaign that has surfaced recently in social media
that has sought to target Hefazat chief Allama Shah Ahmed Shafi. The centre of
all this furor is a video clip which various media describe as being “a recent YouTube video clip of Hefazat-e-Islam chief Shah Ahmed Shafi”
which they say has created “much outrage in social networking sites.”

Before I continue, let me give you my
opinion on this video.

That could be summed up into one word, “
PROPAGANDA”.

Let me explain why.

Sneak peek: Shahbag versus Allama
Shafi,

Let us start by looking at this
video that was shot on the 14th of February 2013.

The contents of the video are
clear to anyone who will care to listen. The crowds are chanting, “Ekta ekta
Shibir dhor, dhoira dhoira jobai kor”. Translated into English, that means, “Catch
(Bangladesh Islami Chatro) Shibir (activists) one by one; catch them and
slaughter them”.

So what do you understand by
this?

At the first look, one will decry
the slogans and term them as barbaric and out of sync with the ideals of any
modern nation. What barbaric people would call for the slaughter of their
fellow human beings? Typical.

Let us then add that this video was shot at
Shahbag on the 14th of February 2013 when the crowds were calling
for the hanging of the war criminals of 1971. On the mention of such
information, many readers will jump up and proclaim that these slogans are just
part of the wide movement and will vociferously proclaim the glorious nature of
these protests and rant on about the democratic, nationalistic and secular
nature of such public demonstrations.

In short, it will eventually be labeled
as a‘misrepresentation’of the original context

Now let us look at the ‘miracle’ video
that our ‘progressive’ friends have unearthed!

The explanation provided is as follows, “In the video, he told to his followers not to educate
girls after the primary level, to keep them at home and not to let women become
financially independent.” Further explaining the scenario, the Tribune
continues, “It has not yet been identified when and where the Hefazat leader
delivered the sermon. One Akash Malik uploaded the video on July 6. According
to the scroll information, it was distributed by Al-Arab Enterprise of 46
Madrasa Market, Hathazari in Chittagong.”

Debunking the fallacy:

It seems that the furor about the
video began after July the 6th, 2013. One of the earliest articles
to be written on the topic was on dnewsbd.com on the 8th of July. The
content was based on the clip exclusively, but neither the origin nor the date
was mentioned while quoting from the clip. By then the 25 minute 30 second (so carefully
cut!) video had supposedly gone viral on various social networks. Aiding in its
propagation was an English
translation that ‘progressives’ used to further the spreading of the video.
Then it spread onto the media outlets and it finally made it big on a talk show at Ekattor TV
when a talk show host used the clips to quiz a member of the Hefazat inner
circle.

However, a bit of investigation
revealed a world of information. The writer discovered the complete, unabridged
and uncut version of the sermon of Allama Shafi which had acted as the source of
the ‘viral’ video.

b)The video was uploaded on the 13th of
July 2011, i.e. exactly two years ago. This debunks the myth of a ‘recent’
event by Allama Shafi.

c)The ‘viral’ video is a cut and edited version
from about 30 minutes into the original source video which did not contain any
location or timeframe.

Explaining the video,

To do justice on his speech, the whole
video needs to be viewed and not quote out of context. The theme of his speech
was mainly to do with Quranic and Shariah injunctions relating to Purdah/niqab
or veiling of women.Those
giving statements about Allama Shafi in the media are mainly associated with
secular or liberal movements which in turn are associated in some way or the
other to the ruling Awami League and its allies in the left. Either they have
not viewed the whole video or are intentionally on
a mission to smear him. Barring that they are ignorant of the context in which
he advised women to stay indoors and compared them with tamarinds.The Quran clearly has commanded us to lower our
gaze. Mufti Shafi quoted the Quranic verse which underscores the need for women
to dress modestly and not appear in public without adhering to the Islamic
dress code. He pointed out some of the human desires and nature of the human
weakness. And it is true that men are attracted to the opposite sex; especially
if the women wear revealing clothing, display their beauty, and freely mix with
the opposite sex. This characteristic is universal to every human being,
whether a saint or a sinner. So the desire of human beings for the opposite sex
is universal and natural. Allah (SWT), knowing this weakness, instructed men to
lower their gazes and women to dress modestly in order to avoid being tempted
or fall in to the trap of the Shaytan (Devil).Mufti Shafi, while explaining the above concept, simply
gave the example of a tamarind so as to make people better understand him. This
association should be used comparatively, not as an instrument for personal
attack.

As for his
advice to women working in garments factories, this also needs to be viewed in
context. Anybody viewing the former part of the full sermon will notice the
definition of adultery (zinaa) by Allama Shafi as being one explained in the
light of the Quran and Hadith. This includes the adultery by eyesight and does
not necessarily absolutely allude to adultery as in a physical act; for in the
eyes of Islam both are grave sins. I shall not back down from repeating that the
key to understanding the sermon of Allama Shafi is to view it in the light of Islam.

Another attempt
to divert thy attention?

Now that we
have gained insight into the backdrop of the sermon, let us look at the
backdrop of the furor that is being created in context of much discussed propaganda
spewing ‘viral’ video. As of late, Allama Shafi was branded as a
misguided soul by various media outlets. Shomoy TV on the 13th of
July, 2013, ran a handful of news items and has included a number of ‘testimonies’
that indicate that probable legal action is on the way.

In other news, Prime Minister
Sheikh Hasina on Saturday came down
heavily on Allama Shah Ahmed Shafi for his ‘derogatory and indecent remarks’
about women. This seems to have come out of nowhere in light of,

a.A rising tide of public opinion which manifest itself
in the loss of the ruling Awami League in all the 5 city corporation elections
held in the last couple of months.

b.The spread of the anti-government anti-quota protests
in all notable educational institutions in the country. A looming student
movement ahead.

c.A highly negative image of the Awami League and
its rogue student arm, the Chhatra League in light of its unpopular stand against
established Islamic organizations and movements, namely the Hefazat-e-Islam.

d.Widespread state sponsored oppression of the
opposition in Bangladesh.

e.Highly prevalent rampant corruption and a severe
shortage of civic amenities such as gas and drinkable water.

Conclusion,

The people of Bangladesh voted
the Awami League into power in the parliamentary elections of 2008 after the party
promised sweeping changes. An example of the rhetoric the incumbent PM had used
at that time included promises such as making rice available as cheap as 10
taka, something she has terrible failed in.

Those days have long gone, and promises
such as these seem something of a bygone era. People in Bangladesh have become
more focused on simple survival than ever as family fortunes dry up, sources of
income trickle down, price of essential commodities shoot up, civic amenities
become less accessible and the gaps between the various strata of society widen.

However, drama is something that
the people of Bangladesh always tend to fall for and the dramatic turn of
events surrounding Allama Shafi is sure to interest even the most nonchalant of
observers. Perhaps that is why a full-fledged Prime Minister is more interested
in playing along with the turn of events than get to the task of doing the
thing that matters most- running the country.